It’s safe to say China’s leadership doesn’t think highly of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague. The international tribunal will issue a ruling on July 12 that could invalidate China’s sweeping territorial claims to most of the South China Sea, a strategically important waterway rich in natural resources.

Ahead of that ruling, China’s leaders have come up with a variety of ways to try to discredit the tribunal and its upcoming decision.

Last week state-controlled media ran articles describing the PCA as a “law-abusing tribunal” with “widely contested jurisdiction.” In May, senior diplomat Xu Hong said the tribunal of acted unjustly by taking up the case.

First, the urgent priority is to stop the arbitration case initiated by the Philippines. If the tribunal insisted on its way and produced an “award,” no one and no country should implement the award in any form, much less to force China into implementation… The arbitral tribunal has no jurisdiction over this case.

“China sees itself as a global super power that shouldn’t be questioned,” says Anders Corr of Corr Analytics. “So here they have this sort of upstart court out in the middle of nowhere that is somehow challenging their historical claim, and they see that as impudent. China reacts intensely against any country or any organization, whether it be the UN or an international court, that’s trying to impinge on what it sees as its backyard.”

Sonya Sceats, an associate fellow of international law at Chatham House, believes China’s fury over the case belies legal insecurities. But she notes Beijing is on a hiring spree of international lawyers and is gearing up to play a bigger role in international law.